Outage
by KittyKatz009
Summary: Maybe power outages weren't that bad after all. Written to fulfill a tumblr prompt: "The lights just went out in all the block"


There was a loud pop then the room went into darkness. Winry removed her goggles with a frown, looking around her workroom.

'Did I blow out the power from using my tools too much?' she wondered as she blindly maneuvered her way over to the breaker box. She hissed as her shin connected with the corner of a table, but rejoiced moments later as her fingers came in contact with the cool metal panel that was the box. She squinted at the little switches, trying to find anything amiss. She groaned when she realized that none were cut off.

"Just great. A power outage," she sighed, closing the box swiftly. These outages always came at the most inopportune times and could last for hours. With the power out, she couldn't finish the final touches to her latest piece. Not that it was going to matter much anyway, considering Edward had a tendency to destroy her beautiful work as soon as he could run off after attachment.

'Not that it would be bad to have some extra time with Edward,' she mused, a small smile on her face. She was grateful to see him again, even if he did come to her with a busted up arm. It had been some time since the brothers last visited her in Rush Valley. She knew that this quest of theirs was getting more and more dangerous and that made her nervous. She had faith in them, of course, but she always worried that one day they would get damaged beyond repair and not be able to come to her.

She couldn't deny that her feelings for the young alchemist had started to move from platonic friendship to a more romantic path. She wasn't sure if he reciprocated the feelings, however. For a 15 year old prodigy, he was clueless in all things outside of alchemy. There were times where she wanted to ask him outright, but she was hesitant. She really didn't want to distract him, especially when they were so close to finding out information that could help them on their journey to restore their bodies. She had to resign herself to pining for him from afar, as much as it sucked. A loud thud and muttered curses pulled her out of her thoughts.

'He must be awake,' she mused as she made her way to the stairwell. She made her way to the small apartment upstairs that she shared with Garfiel, hesitating in front of the door as she realized it was just her and Ed, alone. Garfiel was out on the town with his boyfriend, and Al had wandered off earlier in the evening due to boredom.

"Calm down Winry! You've been alone with him plenty of times!" she scolded herself, patting her cheeks to try and lessen the burning in her cheeks. Why did things have to become so complicated? Taking a calming breath, she pushed the door open. From the waning sunlight she could see Edward sprawled out on the couch shirtless with a grimace on his face as he rubbed at his shin. The creak of the door caught his attention and he looked over to Winry's general direction.

"Why are the corners of tables so sharp?" he groaned.

"They just seem to attack when everyone least expects it. The one in the workbench got me," she laughed.

"Whatever; they suck. So, what happened to the lights?" he asked while sitting up.

"Looks like the lights went out in the entire block," Winry muttered as she looked out the window. "It happens from time to time with everyone being busy working on their automail projects." He hummed in acknowledgement and she rummaged around the drawers looking for the emergency candles. When she found one and the matches, she lit it before placing it on the aforementioned table.

"It's not much, but I figured a little light would be good since the sun is setting," she said, taking a seat next to him.

"Good idea," he murmured, staring at the small, flickering flame with a small frown on his face. She stole sidelong glances in his direction, appreciating how much he had grown up and surveying the scars that littered his body. There were small ones and large ones and she realized that she had no idea what type of trouble he was getting himself into when he was away from her. He only came to her when he needed fixed and it made her heart lurch. What if the next time he got into trouble led to more than just a simple scar?

"Hey Win," he whispered and she turned to look at him.

"What is it Ed?" she asked, curious. He kept his eyes trained on the flame.

"I'm worried. What if, what if we're not able to get his body back?" he asked softly.

"Ed," she whispered, trying not to choke up. She knew that deep down he probably worried about this, but didn't realize how much time he spent dwelling on it.

"We keep going on this chase, and each time we are close to an answer, it's like we get pushed back even further." He wrapped his arm around his chest, rubbing at the vacant port absently.

"You will be able to, I know you will," she said, voice unwavering. "You're smart Ed, one of the smartest people I know. I'm confident you will be able to find a way to do it." He finally tore his gaze away from the candle and looked at her, studying her face like it was the last time he would see it.

"Thank you, Winry," he said after a few moments, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Not a problem, Ed," she smiled, scooting closer to him, lying her head on his shoulder. She felt him stiffen slightly before relaxing into her touch, his arm wrapping around her shoulders lazily as they sat in comfortable silence, the flame dancing on their skin. Even though it wasn't much, he still let her into his head, into the fears that plagued him. Maybe power outages weren't so bad after all.


End file.
